Objectives of the workshop

X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS) is a powerful tool for the investigation of surfaces. Due to the strong scattering of photoelectrons by gas molecules it has been mostly used under ultra-high vacuum conditions (pressure <10-9 mbar), making it difficult to conduct investigations of surfaces under real-world conditions (i.e. in the presence of gases, and possibly liquids), such as is the case of interfacial chemical reactions in catalysis, chemical vapor deposition, electrochemistry and environmental chemistry. A considerable breakthrough was the construction of a new type of photoemission spectrometer capable of operating at near ambient pressure (20 mbar, NAP-XPS). Initiated and developed at LBNL in Berkeley, NAP-XPS has already provided remarkable results in the field of environmental chemistry and catalysis. This technique opens entirely new avenues for measurements of surfaces using photoelectron spectroscopy.

Concomitantly with this deep renewal of the XPS tool, we assist to a paradigmatic shift in the photoemission studies from classical ultra-high vacuum surface science examined statically towards model systems under ambient conditions with an emphasis on the dynamics. There exist six such functioning setups around the world, most of them installed in synchrotron radiation facilities. It is thus time to review the present status, the latest developments and future prospects of NAP-XPS in the field of surface and nano chemistry, covering both state-of-the-art experimental and theoretical aspects. The dedicated workshop Near-Ambient Pressure Photoemission and Surface chemistry: new tools and new paradigms will take place SOLEIL, the French National synchrotron source. Since January 2013, SOLEIL hosts the first machine of this type in France. The installation is managed by a group of researchers from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie. The main objectives of the workshop are the following: first take a snapshot of the this fast developing field, second examine how this technique combines with theoretical approaches, and third popularize the NAP-XPS technique among surface chemists and physical chemists.